Being Peta

Best Birthday Prezzie!

2008-06-30T22:33:16Z

You may be wondering why my comic hasn't updated when it should. this is partically because I have lacked the time to even scratch me... well you know. Both my sons had their birthday parties this last month with the requesite sleep overs on top of everything else.

But the still reason you'll all have to wait a bit longer before i can update is that I have been abducted. Yup... stolen away with only an hours notice to pack before a limo pulled up our driveway to take me to the airport. Dear Veg, my soul mate, has arranged a mystery holiday for me for my birthday. He's been teasing me for the last four weeks with cryptic clues about what this present was going to be such as the colours 'red blue red' and that it was going to be spiritual (well duh! of course alcohol was going to be involved.) The there would be a lot of water and that my kids and many of our friends have all had a hand in arranging it... and this was before i even was aware that it was going to be a holiday (a fact i've only just found out.) I still don't know where we're going so i'll update you all when i can. All i know is that I'll be back by next Monday. :)

Best wishes til then.

For all the Div. 2's (Enrolled Nurses) Doing their Drug Accrediation. :)

2008-06-16T10:23:35Z

Nurse Crack. LOL

The Doctors Daughter. Rant.

2008-06-13T02:54:12Z

I love Doctor Who. I've watched it since I was a little kids starting way back in the JohnPertwee era.
In general I do not like television. I will go for months without switching the thing on.. I don't mind the occassional movie and sometimes a tv series will grip me for a short while with the notable exception of Farscape that I adored from start to finish. I can handle episodes of 'House' in small doses but thats about it.

Doctor Who is different. It's the one series I will watch almost without question perhaps because it has always been a part of my life but also because this revival has been so totally awesome and encompases the some of the best 50 minute episodes of any series I've ever seen. ('Blink', for example and the two parter that concludes with 'The Doctor Dances'.)

And i guess thats why when they do birth a clanger it really REALLY pisses me off.

And for me 'The Doctors daughter' was a clanger in so many ways.

I'll try to summerise the worst bits here. Under a cut of course due to spoilerage.

ZIP BANG... atissue sample is taken and in under 60 seconds the magic cloning machine spits out a fully formed adult sized human who not only dressed in a cutsey girl combat uniform and did her hair in lightning speed but took a few precious seconds to carefully apply EYE LINER!

YES I know this is fantasy but PLEASE PLEASE try to have some attempt at plausability!!!!!!! I know that they wanted to leap straight into the story with as little set up time as possible but the way this was plotted cheapened the whole thing. If only they had taken a bit more time and really thought out how the process of super fast artificial reproduction would work in a plausible way this would of been a whole lot easier to swallow.

I don't have a problem with combat techniques and a warped version of history was embedded in Jenny's mind. I take it this would have been an updated version of the original set program which would infuse the offspring with a real history and full knowledge of agricultural and manufacturing skills. I can get that a nifty way to jump start a colony would be to send only a handful of representatives to oversee the space journey and manufacture the first generation of the population on site ready to go. Though it's rather sad these people will not experience a childhood and will have to build families from scratch. But okay i can buy that. But what I would have loved to see... to follow through with this form of planet population, is a bank of human DNA samples ready to go to MAKE these people. The story seems to infer that only the crew was planned to be used and this doesn't make any kind of sense to me considering that you would only need a handful of crew to get there, perhaps four or five of each race at the most.

I can accept how the disbute started: the origianl leader died and the two races human and hass, had a falling out on who should take over. then there is this huge GAP in the story which is never filled. And that is exactly how, in only seven days, did all knowledge of the original project dissapear, especially seeing as one of the humans definately looked like he wasn't fresh out of the cloning booth. Possible explanation: he was insane and had fabricated the whole altered history for some twisted purpose of his own; he is responsible for the death of the leader and everyone else who knew the true purpose of the mission and he's doing this to get rid of the Hass who he either has a personal beef against or is being paid by perhaps the terraforming sponsers to eliminate. That would also nicely explain how the 'cloning device' got reprogrammed to spit out soldiers. But then the whole thing just got completely out of control. THAT I could live with. But no attempt what so ever was made to flesh out his character or give him a real purpose for what he was doing. It could have been a really deep intreging plot with many layers and should have covered two episodes. It is frustrating that what was a pretty good idea was just so glossed over and totally ballsed up.

Martha and her short relationship with the hass. Loved the fact we couldn't understand them, that their speech was composed of blowing bubbles into a container of lime cordial concentrate. love the fishy look. Loved the fact that even the tardis translated the language for the crew it didn't for us which its pretty novel and fun. (The hass were fully scripted by the way.) What i Hated was how frelling contrived and predictable all the Marthe scenes were. Poor Freema was ripped off here though she tried to make the best of it. As for that scene of the hass saving her but sinking into the swamp... OH GOD SPARE ME!!!! How many seconds did it take Greenhorn to think of that????? I have rarely seen a more contrived way to jam in a bit of drama in a see through attempt to balance out the character scene time. That period of walking across the planets gloomy landscape could have been used so much more effectively for something that would would add to and deepen the story... maybe a hint about some unrest in the human/ hass alliance or a discovery that could further the plot. But this. Oh man why did they even bother!!!

Now for my biggest beef. and that is the flippant way they suddenly produced another time lord literally out of a hat, or a box as the case maybe. I see this as a slap in the face to all of the previous writers who worked so damn hard to carve the wonder and mistique that is the race of the Timelords. The Doctor is the only surviving Timelord (bar the Master 'cause who can really believe he's dead. ) That another timelord has come into existence is a HUGE thing... not some freakin' paper thin cheap shot one off episode. Now we're not stupid... can anyone else hear the rustling of yet another spin off series in the making. And the resounding proof to me of this... even the if the last scene of the episode didn't spell it out to even preschool kiddies... is the fact that when Jenny regenerated she remained exactly the same. To me this says that the producers want Georgia Moffett for the role and decided to start her staight away with this episode just incase the spin off didn't bounce. I really dislike that they totally ignored the whole set up of a timelord regeneration cycle just to meet this end. Once again it cheapens the whole concept.

Another thing that bugs me. Timelords have extra percetions ontop of the ones we take for granted. They can feel the warp and wave of times currents through the eons and they can feel the movements of the galaxys. Jenny seems to be completely oblivious to this. Jenny, apart from from having two hearts and an unusual form of regeneration, appears to be otherwise completely human.

This is how I how can logically explain this: the Doctor was right. Jenny is NOT a Timelord. Not a pure one anyway. the machine wa set to spit out humans and the hass machine was set to spit out hass. When the human machine got a sample of the Doctor's DNA it did the best it could and spat out a human/ Timelord hybrid. Ergo Jenny has both human and Timelord qualities. If Jenny has any Timelord extra perceptions then it is they are either supressed or haphazzard. Jenny is very smart, perhaps even has Timelord like brilliance (keeping in mind that even amongst other Timelords the Doctor was seen as being exceptional in this regard.) Jenny was capable of quickly surpressing her warrior programming and developing her own set of morals in lightning speed. She is intensely curious and has her fathers passion for adventure. Infact personailty wise I see her as rather like the doctor but without the emotional bagged and perhaps a bit more common sense. i can even see her building a time device rather like the one Jack originally had... not a tardis but something that would help appease her (I'm asuming it exists) Timelord need to conquer and move through time.

On the bright side... yes there are some things I liked... i felt the acting was excellent considering the crappy storyline the poor cast had to try and pull off. Georgia was brilliant as Jenny, just brilliant. She brought her to life. You could really feel the newness (Phrased badly... trying to say that Jenny was brand new... freshly born even though she was fully functioning) , but also the intelligence and nobelness. Catherine was marvelous as usual. Her characters not so gentle ribbing of the Doctors 'daddy' status along with acting as his conscious, seeing as he seemed to have taken leave of his own, plus her concern and acceptance for Jenny were all nicely combined and delivered. And David himself pulled off what must have been a bloody difficult performance given the flippant nature his 'daughter' suddenly appeared. He breathed a bit of reality into the emotionally complicated situation and looked like he gave a hell of a lot more thought to how the whole thing would appear to the audience then the writer did. It made sense that the Doctor would be horrified and distance himself initially from this artificial creation. And then as his pain and long supressed longing for his own deceased family chipped away at his emotional brick wall a glimmer of desire to see a child of his own happy and healthy and free from the horror of the time wars emerging was beautifully done.

And thankfully the death scene was handled okay too. No screaming tears. Just the death of hope and a stunned silence. (Although I'm still pissed off that it was Captain Deranged who shot her her in a mad fit of what-the-hell and not something a little bit more unexpected. God Greenhorn... did you write that on the train on your way to the station? Sheeeshhh!!!!!)

Thankyou for not having her regenerate in front of them. Yup of course that couldn't happen because it would be a devil of a job to split her up from her father who would move heaven and earth to find her if they became seperated. But once again... her regeneration was so frellin' flippant and a blatant lead into a spin off series. oh man *faceplant*.

So sadly what, with a little more thought and a bit of dedication to actually produce a really good story, could have been brilliant ranks for me as an all time low in the spectrum of Doctor Who episodes. it is probably my most unfavourite episode to date due to it's deplorably poor plot development and overuse of cheap plot devices. Man I hope this is the only clanger.

You think Elephants of awesome? You don't know the half of it.

2008-06-12T10:08:36Z

You're kidding me!!!!!

(Sends all of her painting equipment to India.)

Makes me hate poachers all the more.

Character Mem Questionaire thingie Time killer.

2008-06-12T09:30:10Z

Pinched this from Jeriendhal who pinched it from sumwunelse.

Choose twelve of your original characters, in any particular order. Then, answer the questions that follow, but DON'T LOOK AT THE QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU PICK THE CHARACTERS!

1. Mavra Chan
2. Leeza Blake
3. Matthew Townsend
4. Melika Softpaw
5. Varn Gene Mage
6. Terinu
7. Lance Freeman
8. Ru' Ofanius Brushtail
9. Vonnie Freeman
10. Admiral Blake
11. Oryon Gisko
12. Skorah Gisko

1. Who would make a better college professor, 6(Terinu) or 11(Gisko)?

Oryon definately and he'd make a pretty good, if somewhat stuffy but he would have the patience and dedication to teach. Terinu would be the one at the back of the class dozing off or slingshotting wasps at the girls.

2. Do you think #2(Leeza Blake) is hot? How hot?

Leeza is definately hot, even hotter for the fact that she doesn't know it.

3. 12(Skorah) sends 8(Ru'Ofanius) on a mission. What is it, and does it succeed?

Skorah's mission would be something along the lines of sended him back to his people to educate them about the benefits of worshipping the Varn and rejoining the Dominion. Rufus would politely point out that he didn't believe it was in their best interests to do so and the whole thing would fall into a polite debate in which Skorah is given some food for thought. (Although she would probably feel the benefits of the Dominion would greatly outway the 'illusion' of freedom the races of the Alliance currently have.)

4. What is or would be 9's(Vonnie's) favorite book?

I'd have to think more about this one. Given Vonnie's very practicle nature she would probably enjoy either texts on business management or books covering the pioneering of space post dominion years. I can't see her being interested in fictional novels at all.

5. Would it make more sense for 2(Leeza) to swear fealty to 6(Terinu), or the other way around?

Actually, if they had a choice, neither. But seeing as Terinu HAD to 'swear fealty' to Leeza to save her life and Leeza has pretty much taken Terinu on board as her responsibility to protect him from her father you could say that they've sworn to each other.

6. For whatever reason, 5(Gene Mage) is looking for a roommate. Should 5(Gene Mage) share a studio apartment with 9(Vonnie) or with 10(Admiral Blake)?

Gene Mage and Erwin locked in a room together.... RUN FOR COVER!!!

7. 2(Leeza), 7(Lance), and 12(Skorah) have dinner together. Where do they go, and what do they discuss?

The cousins would probably treat Skorah to a good quality bar with a grill to sample good Aussie cuisine. They'd discuss human/ earth customs and try to stear clear of politics. Lance would try to sneak in a few references to the benefits of having freedom and self determination and Leeza would kick him at least four times under the table. Skorah will be too tactful to be drawn into an argument.

8. 3(Matt) challenges 10(Admiral Blake) to a duel. What happens?

If it went ahead Matt would get his ass kicked. Matt would challenge the Admiral to protect Terinu but Blake would refuse to be drawn into a physical fight with a seventeen year old. It would be beneath him.

9. If 1(Mavra) stole 8's(Rufus’s) most precious possession, how would 8 get it back?

It depends what type of precious we're talking about here. If it was a physical object of sentimental value then Rufus would fume but wouldn't attempt to retrieve it... much too dangerous to risk a confrontation with the pirtae warlord over a trinket. If it was a person then Rufus would attempt a solo mission as he wouldn't want to endanger anyone else... although if Leeza caught him trying to act on his own she would string him up.

10. Suggest a title for a story in which 7(Lance) and 12(Skorah) both attain what they most desire.

Premiership baby. (Okay... it's daft... but Lance would love Collingwood to win the premiershp (Aussie Rules Footy) and Skorah dearly wants a child.)

11. What kind of plot device would you use if you wanted 4(Gisko) and 1(Mavra) to work together?

They would be ordered to work together by the Gene Mage.

12. If 7(Lance) visited you for the weekend, how would you get along?

Fine. Lance is a very likable bloke. He'd have a mess of interesting stories a that a couple cans would lubricateout of him and we'd sit around eating pizza and yakking and watching the footy or the V8 super cars on the tele.

13. If you could command 3(Matthew) to perform any one task or service for you, what would it be?

I'd get him to cleanup the garden, or cook. Matt's a pretty good cook after working for so many years in a galley and helping to prepare Mavra's meals.

14. Does anyone on your friends list write or draw anything regarding 11(Gisko)?

Yup! Jeriendhal has written a ton of fantastic fics an many of my characters and several using Gisko. Luv luv luv them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

15. If 2(Leeza) had to choose sides between 4 (Melika) and 5(Gene Mage), which would it be?

Well DUH! (Melika of course.)

16. What might 10(Admiral Blake) shout while charging into battle?

"NO PRISONERS!" I'm kidding there.
Hmmmm.
Maybe I'm not kidding.

17. If you chose a song to represent 8(Ru'Ofanius), which song would you choose?

Something about freedom and having the soul of a wanderer. These aren't quite right but they're getting there; Roam, Life is a Highway, Cool Change.

18. 1(Mavra), 6(Terinu), and 12(Skorah) are having dim sum at a Chinese restaurant. There is only one scallion pancake, and they all reach for it at the same time. Who gets to eat it?

Definately not Skorah who would put her chop sticks down and smile politely passing it on. As for Terinu and Mavra: the staff would be cleaning up the damage to the resturant for days. Infact it would probably end up as an insurance job for the entire block.

19. What might be a good pick-up line for 2(Leeza) to use on 10(Blake)?

Incest... the game the whole family can play. NO NO NO not going there!!!!!!!!!!

20. What would 5(Gene Mage) most likely be arrested for?

Sapient rights abuse. Unlawful occupation. False imprisonment. Mass murder.

21. What is 6's(Terinu) secret?

Terinu is forced by his hardwired ferin nature to obey the direct commands of anyone his supconcious percieves as being his 'master'. it was an instinct the Gene Mage bred into his ferin. Presently Terinu's master is Leeza who is ignorant of this facet of ferin psycology and he definately does not want her to know how much control over him she really has.

22. If 11(Gisko) and 9(Vonnie) were racing to a destination, who would get there first?

Vonnie from sheer ingenuity and bloody mindedness.

23. If you had to walk home through a bad neighborhood late at night, would you feel safer in the company of 7(Lance) or 8(Rufus)?

Either would be good company but Lance's size and combat skills as a marine would definately give me a sense of security.

24. 1(Mavra) and 9(Vonnie) reluctantly team up to save the world from the threat posed by 4's (Melika’s) sinister secret organization. 11 (Gisko) volunteers to help them, but it is later discovered that he is actually a spy for 4(Melika). Meanwhile, 4(Melika) has kidnapped 12(Skorah) in an attempt to force their surrender. Following the wise advice of 5(Gene Mage), they seek out 3(Matthew), who gives them what they need to complete their quest. What title would you give this fic?

How Non Canon Can I Get?!

That was 30 minutes of my life i can't get back.

But it WAS fun. :)

Mothers Day

2008-05-10T22:32:46Z

Happy Mothers Day to all the mums out there.

Mine started on a sad note at just after 3 am at work were one of our long time residents died, expectantly, aftergoing into cadiac failure. We had her husband , children and some grand children through paying their respects. So terrible that it happened to occur on mothers day.

After i got off shift this morning I headed down to the florist for a posey to put beneigth my Mum's memorial rose (which had a lovely big peach coloured bloom on it.) So I had a little cry there in private 'cause i miss her and theres so much i'd love to tell her about. I like to put the flowers down there first so that when my sisters come to pay respects theres already flowers sitting behind the plaque so it doesn't look stark.

Anyway I'm off to bed now. Kyra was dissapointed about not being able to do the morning thing but she understands I'm just too zonked after a shift, plus nobody gets up on a Sunday before nine (except for Chayton who gets up to play the computer in peace) and I'm not waiting up that long.

Wayne and the kids have hatched a plan to make up for it by doing something special for dinner tonight... fortunately i have no reason to be afraid as Wayne is an excellent cook and Ryan's not far behind (you should taste his apple crumble!)

Anyway i'm rambling so Goodnight or whatever. Wishing the best to all the Mothers out there, hope you have a good one and somebody else remembers to clean up after it all.

(Crossposted from my khestral41 account.)

2008-05-09T14:52:03Z

So after going to the Doc about one painful problem that will remain unmentioned and being told that I have a temp of 38.5 (read fever) and gee that explains why all I've wanted to do all week is fall into a coma AND getting through a course of AB's that have rendered me once again human internally as well as externally.... pff pufff puffff...

I have gone back to walking again, this time around the section of the Barwon River within walking distance... beautiful scenic walk by the way if any of you are ever across here I'll take you on a tour. The dogs are enjoying the new course and our council have thoughtfully posted doggy bags and bins along the pathway which deals with the unmentionable inevitables of having dogs.

My little pedometre, which I remembered about and unearthed last week from it's dark little hidy hole in the bottom of my important bits of junk that I can't throw away box, is doing a tour of duty snapped to my waste band keeping count of the number of steps I take, the kilometres I cover and the amount of calories I'm burning based on my weight. Heres the nutty maths I was playing with on my walk this am: each walk is over 6 km long and I burn up about 420 cals. Rounding it down to 400 cals and taking into account that each kilo of fat equals a little under 8000 calories I've calculated that doing this walk 4 times a week over the course of a year burns well over 10 kilo's of fat!

I spent a good chunk of hours today going over the last two chapters of this current season of terinu. I'm finally happy with it. A few scenes need some decent dialogue nutted out but basically the flow and the timing and the logic behind it all seems to work fine now. I'm now confident to go ahead with the story boards. In fact I've already finished some of the scenes already. For anyone thinking that the ending of this arc will bring some resolution for the characters.... BWAAA HAAAA HAAAA!!!!

Definition of my daughter....

2008-02-28T22:34:33Z

Cute as a button labeled 'Danger: Do Not Press.'

Merry Yuletide Everyone.

2007-12-26T00:01:26Z

As I write this it has just gone 10:00am boxing day and I'm in recovery mode. Hanging for a strong cup of tea actually, just waiting for the kettle to boil.

I worked a shift on Christmas Eve which made Christmas Day a bit of a challenge to tackle. I managed it by taking naps throughout the day. Wayne was an absolute dear. He'd volunteered several weeks ago to cook Christmas lunch, and though I had some evil fun letting him know that I was working and so he'd be at it on his own he still pulled through marvelously on the day.

The house looks like a brothel this morning. But I'm waiting until everyone is up before coordinating the assault on the kitchen and family room. Followed closely by trying to fit all the new belongings into the kids bedrooms with some sembalance of neatness. Not so hard with the boys room as we worked together to clean it out a few weeks ago. rather more problematical with Kyra's room. I still can't figure out how she can be the youngest and the one who has a bedroom to herself and yet seems to have twice as much stuff as her brothers put together?

Santa has been nice to me this year. :) My inlaws got me a voucher to buy some decent sun glasses, (I usually wear 10$ service station sunnies.) My kids presented me with a bottle of Elizabeth Arden's Mediterranaen which apparently they had great fun picking out at the perfume counter at Myers. The one I'm going to have the most fun with is the one Wayne and I picked for each other and that is a ASUS Eee PC 701. I've been wanting something i can write on ever since my pocket PC decided to go on strike. Truth to tell I wanted something different before then. The PPC is handy to carry around but with a small screen and teenie virtual keyboard made it a bit clumsy to use. Laptops are too big and heavy to cart around (I write on the go like everything else i do :) .) But nothing in the market seemed to fit what i wanted. Then when we were in melbourne last I spotted this in the big Myers store. Wayne was impressed... he'd been looking to replace his own work PPC. So we bought each other one. Mine is sitting chanrged up ready to go next to me though I've decided not to touch it until after the house is tidy. (otherwise the house will never to tidy!)

One nasty Christmas present I could well have done without is the ache and pain that has recently developed in my right arm. It evolved to a new level yesterday when i awoke with the feeling of 'coldness' in my arm and tingling in my hand. Repetative Strain injury anyone. GRRRRRR! No more drawing for Pete for the next week or so to give it a rest. (Technically I shouldn"t even be typing this, though I',m doing it left handed.) The hardest part is keeping away from gaming. We recently got Hellgate London and I sooooo want to play. I've limited myself to generating a character and reading the guide. I don't want to risk having this pain stick around permanantly. (Which also means no WoW :(. ) I hope it eases off over the week so that I can ink the next comic page. That and my new computer still being in the throes of installing all the necceassary applications to complete my comic pages means that this Christmas break couldn't have had better timing.

Friends coming around for boxing day lunch. Must go and doing something about the debri littering the warzone outside the computer room door.

My first born is now on holidays... i think.

2007-12-13T02:02:08Z

Ryan appears to have fnished school. I say appears because these last two weeks of his term seems to be the most mixed up pseudo school days I have ever known. Year seven was not required at school for various reasons for three days last week and two days this week although he officially doesn't finish the school year til the 18th. plus he accommpanied Wayne to Val's funeral on Wednesday which is a four hour drive away. Ryan is moaning about having to attend the school assembly on the 18th. I can't blame him... four hours of listening to awards being handed out and the school officials droning on would be enough to turn me catatonic. I told him to consider it practice for future staff meetings when he's in the work force.

He's off today so we went down the art shop to spend the $100 voucher I got for last Christmas that was about to expire. I loaded up with inking pens, paper, 2.0 ml mech pencil plus red lead for sketches plus I replaced my favourite mech. rubber which has graduated to the status of dog chew toy curtesy of Ember. Ryan bought himself some items plus a bunch of art gear for his *girl friend's* christmas prezzie as she is keen on drawing character art as he is making animations. (She's a good kid, fan of my comic --> good taste too. lol.) Wayne and I are thinking of buying a wacom bamboo tablet for Ryan for Christmas as he spends so much time drawing on the puter and I'm too protective of my own tablet to allow him to use it. The bamboo's a lot smaller screen but he doesn't draw the big pics I work on... his area is pixel art and flash/ powerpoint animations.

I've finished all the art for the calendar. YAY! the cover will be a old fav of mine with a redone background effect. Last thing to finish. I'm hoping to start uploading it tonight. i won't be able to advertise it on my website until saturday as I need Wayne to insert the neccessary code onto my page to do so. For the moment I'm going to finish pencilling the next scene between Terinu and the Gene Mage before getting the blues done. Only three pages to go... should get most of it done before I have to pick the two littlest ones from school. I'll work on inking tomorrows update tonight... looking forward to posting this next page as it's a really devious little teaser which was a lot of fun to draw.

One of those lists of questions about yourself...

2007-11-27T06:15:54Z

Found this on a mate from DA's journal. Did it because I'm sleep deprived.

1. Do you snore?
Yup.

2. Are you a lover or a fighter?
Kind of in between.

3. What’s your worst fear?
Seriously... losing my husband or kids.

4. As a kid, where you a lego maniac?
I played with lego but I wasn’t nuts about it.

5. What do you think of “reality” tv?
A sad reflection on the lack of taste in network programming.

6. Do you chew on your straws?
Nope.

7. Were you a cute baby?
I had cute curly light blonde hair and blue eyes.

8. Is the single life for you?
I thought so as a young adult. Then I met Wayne... all life plans pitched out the window.

9. What color is your keyboard?
Black and silver.

10. Do your sing in the shower?
The neighbours might hear me and I sing like a demented crow.

11. Have you ever sky-dived before?
No. Perfectly good ground. Why would I ever want to leave it.

12. Any secret talents?
None that I’m going to tell here.

13. What’s your ideal vacation spot?
Anywhere with a beach or forest.

14. Can you swim?
Love swimming.

16. Have you seen the movie "Donnie Darko”?
Would I want to?

17. Do you give a d--- about the ozone?
I give a d--- about a lot of things. There are some serious problems happening... the scary increase in the number of severe childhood allergies and the current statistics for cancer. I think we’re going to find a lot of medical problems are tied to the changes in our lifestyles and environment.

18. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

Never had one.

19. Can you sing the alphabet backwards?
If I’m really bored.

20. Have you ever been on an airplane?
Yes.

21. Are you a single child?
One of seven immediate family, three more if you count my step family.

22. Do you prefer electronic or manual pencil sharpeners?

I sharpen manually because I can’t find a good mechanical one. Would sharpen my good art pencils manually to preserve them in any case.

23. What's your stand on hunting?

As long as it is restricted to control of overpopulated or introduced species and is done cleanly with care taken to prevent any undue suffering on the part of the animal. Many of our native species are threatened by introduced species... foxes, rabbits, razor backs (wild pigs) goats etc. It’s a nasty job but has to be done.

24. Is marriage in your future?
Marriage is my present and future.

25. Do you like your handwriting?
Nope... it’s mostly illegible unless I concentrate.

26. What are you allergic to?
House dust, house dust mites, horse dander, honey, nickel.

27. When was the last time you said 'I love you?'
This morning when I dropped my two littlest ones off at school.

28. Is Tupac still alive?
Who?

29. Do you cry at weddings?
Didn’t think I did til I went to my nieces wedding last week. Was fine until the reception when my brother (her father) got up to speak. He used to call her ‘Tiny’ and it’s only since she became a mother (to twin girls) that he started addressing her as Jacki. He related how recently She turned to him and said: “Stop calling me Jacki. You only ever called me Jacki when I was in trouble. Call me Tiny.” And then he said, with his voice breaking up with emotion,: “You’ll always be my Tiny.” Cue Peta going to water.

30. How do you like your eggs?
Poached on toast.

31. Are blondes dumb?
Duh. Dumbest girl I know, and she’s a real sweet person which is her big redeeming factor... is a very dark brunette.

32. Where does the other sock end up?
Either buried under my son’s doona’s or in one of the dogs beds.

33. What time is it?
4:47 pm EST.

4. Do you have a nickname?
Commonly called Pete but I also get Petey, occassionally Pebbles (‘Peta’ is the fem of Peter which means ‘Rock’) and exclusively from my youngest sister ‘Scrag’.

35. Is McDonald's disgusting?
Do bears s**t in the woods.

36. When was the last time you were in a car?
This morning coming home from work.

37. Do you prefer baths or showers?
Showers for speed.

38. Is Santa Claus real?
My kids either believe he’s real or they don’t get presents... especially the older boys for the sake of my youngest one.

39. Do you like having you neck kissed?
By Wayne... oh yeah!

40. Are you afraid of the dark?
Never. I work mostly in the dark.

41. What are you addicted to?

Drawing, writing, playing WoW.

42. Crunchy or creamy peanut butter?
Crunchy.

43. Can you crack your neck?
No, but my left ankle clicks when I walk in cold weather.

44. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
Not as a patient.

45. How many times have you brushed your teeth today?
Once.

46. Is drug free the way to be?
Unless it’s medically necessary and then only the minimum required to maintain health, control pain etc..

47. Are you a heavy sleeper?
Yes.

48. What colour are your eyes?
Steel blue.

50. Do you like your life?
I love my life. I wouldn’t swap who I am, where I am, my family, my skills for the world.

51. Who’s better: Stone Cold or The Rock?
Wayne Hewitt >_< .

52. Are you psychic??
Nope but it would help.

53. Have you read "Catcher in the Rye"?
Not interested.

54. Do you play any instruments?
Tried to learn the guitar and the clarinet as a kid. Failed miserably.

55. Have you ever stolen money?
Nope.

56. Can you snowboard?
It’s on my ‘to do’ list.

57. Do you like camping?
YES YES YES!!!!!!

58. Do you snort when you laugh?
Nope.

59. Do you believe in magic?
I believe it’s everywhere if you know how to look.

60. Are dogs a man’s best friend?
And a girl’s best friend. My schipperkes are two of my best friends.

61. You believe in divorce?
I believe people should put a little more time and thought into deciding whether to get married. At present divorce is a necessary evil that is hell on kids no matter how amicable.

62. Can you do the moonwalk?
Would I want to moon walk?

63. Do you make a lot of mistakes?
All the time. I’m human, deal.

64. Is it cold outside today?
It’s supposed to be raining. *Looks out at the clear skies and very warm sunshine.*

65. What was the last thing you ate?
Cup of tea and meat lovers pizza flavoured shapes.

66. Do you wear nail polish?
Nope.

67. Have you ever been kissed?
Yup.

68. What's the most annoying TV commercial?
I boycott commercial television. Election mudslinging on the radio. (Thank god it’s over now.)

69. Do you shop at American Eagle?
Not big on shopping and never heard of that one.

70. Favorite song at the moment?
Silver Chair ‘Straight line’ and Mika ‘Happy Ending’.

72. Do you like your job?
Patient care... love it. People I work with are great but the paperwork and politics would drive a nun to drink.

73. Do you like your classes in school?
Some I did, some I didn’t. Enjoyed history and geography and biology, hated chemistry and English because it was SOOOOOO boring!

74. How do you like your meat cooked?
Medium Rare.

75. Do you like these surveys?
I really should be doing other things. I’m procrastinating because I haven’t had much sleep.

Tell me something I don't know.

2007-09-05T07:21:00Z

Nicked from Jeriendhals journal.

Truth or Dare. Part 2.

2007-08-29T00:28:20Z

Next segment of the story.

Once again this contains a big spoiler for the main story, you'll know what i mean when you read it. But it shouldn't detract from the main story because nothing about how things got this way is discussed.

Also keep in mind this is no epic work of fiction. It's me chucking about a silly idea and basically having fun with my characters exploring what they are like during the 'down times' in the action. No real effort has been invested into plotting this as its mainly just one long running scene. This is also fairly raw, straight off the brain cells with a minimal effort in spell and grammatical checking. If I finish it and IF I decide I like it I'll go back and rewrite the really bad bits.

Enjoy.

Truth or Dare. Part 2.

“Nova, could you be a little less emo. This is going to be fun,” Gwen called back over her shoulder as she strode down the corridor.

“I was having fun already,” grumbled Terinu.

“Pfft! Oggling at your own reflection in the glass is not having fun, it's just weird.”

“I was not.... grrr, never mind.”

They stopped outside the door to the rec room located a tier below and aft to the lounge. The rec room had been claimed as the unofficial teenage area early in the flight just as the main lounge upstairs had been sequestered by the adults. It was a comfortable arrangement that boded for a minimum of friction.

Gwendolyn stopped and palmed the door open.

“Hey Teri,” called a friendly male voice from inside.

“Oh hi Matt,” answered Terinu addressing the blonde teenage boy slouched on one of the sofas. “I thought ya' were busy studyin'?”

"See, I told you I had a surprise for you," smirked Gwen as she crossed

the floor.

“Yeah I was. But I need to take a break from probability calculus before my head exploded and this sounded like fun.” He waved at the spot next to him. “Come sit down.”

“I got them,” Joleen, a pretty creo girl with a brightly dyed pink top knot called over to them from the servery. Triumphantly she held up two vac bottles of wine.

“Excellent,” grinned Gwen. “Did you have any problems?”

“Nope, the chill storage opened up just like you said it would,” replied Joleen. Her expression became serious. “Are you sure that nobody's going to find out we took them. I wouldn't want to upset Captain Brushtail, he's always been so nice to me.”

“Don't worry, it's all spiff,” replied Gwen winking at the gray skinned girl. “I hacked into the ship manifest just before and changed the stock numbers. No one will even know they even existed.” She took one of the bottles and tossed it at Matt. “Here, make yourself useful.”

“So,” said Terinu. “Yer finally using that cyber gliding shit fer something worthwhile. Nicking plonk is a good start.”

Gwen stuck her tongue out at the ferin boy. “I'll have you know I've been hacking systems since I could fire up a log in.”

Matt caught the bottle and clipped back the seal. He studied the label. “What is this stuff anyway? It looks expensive,” he said offering the bottle to Terinu.

“Hold it, guys,” commanded Gwen as she palmed open the cupboard next to the chiller. “We're civilized here. Cups please.”

She passed four glasses to Joleen who lined them up on the games table in front of Matt. Matt shrugged and obligingly filled the glasses.

“Have you had wine before?” Gwen asked Joleen.

The creo girl nodded. “Oh yes. My family serve quwender wine with our evening meals. It's a little darker than this one.” She swirled her glass.

“So creo kids are allowed to drink?” asked Gwen.

“Well not little kids,” Joleen replied. “You can only consume alcohol after you’ve reached your fourteenth year. And you’re supposed to be supervised by a guardian until your twentieth year. This is a bit naughty.” She giggled and took an experimental sip of her wine and licked her lips. “What about human children?”

Gwen shrugged. “You've got to be eighteen, and it doesn't matter whether you're around adults or not. But there are still some sub cultures where you have to wait 'til you're twenty-one.”

Joleen's eyes widened. “Twenty-one? Really? Gee, that sounds extreme.” She pointed to Gwen's glass. “Don't your parents mind that you are ignoring their cultural practices?”

Gwen snorted. “My mum would kill me if she knew. But then I've already got a death warrant because of this.” She tapped behind her left ear where the stainless steel circle of the cyber glider port nestled snugly into her skull. The port had been implanted there courtesy of her previous 'boyfriend' who had tried to sell her to the ardactavians as an unregistered cyber- glider. “Not to mention me running off to join the vulpine navy. I think a little alcohol right now will be the least of her worries. Besides, it'll make this game more fun."

"So what is this game you've dragged me in here for?" asked Terinu.

Gwen knelt by the centre table and tapped a code onto its plexi-glass surface. A panel mounted in the centre slid back and a small black box rose up flush with the table top and clicked into place. "It's a traditional Earth game called Truth or Dare," she explained.

"That sounds interesting," said Joleen settling into the sofa on Gwen's right. "How do you play it?"

"Oh it's fun," reassured Gwen as she punched a set of commands into the black box. She fished out the data chip from her pocket and inserted it into the slot on the top of the box. The box gave a short musical chime. "Unit primed. Truth or Dare Galactic. Please input players."

"The rules are simple," continued Gwen. "We're all assigned a player number and take a turn each round. When it's your turn you nominate whether you want to answer a question or do a dare. For each question you answer honestly or each dare you complete you get a point. The first person to have five points at the end of a round wins."

"That sounds easy enough," said Matt.

Gwen grinned mischievously. "Believe me it's a lot harder than it sounds. The questions can get a bit, well, personal, and you don't always want to answer them."

"So," Terinu shrugged. "Then ya' just don't answer 'em."

"But if you don't answer them you lose the chance to earn a point," replied Gwen.

"Then just make something up. Who'd know the difference," retorted Terinu.

Gwen rummaged through her back pack. "I've got something for you. Here, hold out your hand."

Terinu obligingly lifted his right hand. Gwen grasped it and looped a bracelet over his fingers and pushed the stretchy band over his hand until it fit snugly around his wrist.

"That's why you have these."

She delved back into the back pack and took out three more bracelets and handed two to Joleen and Matt. Terinu inspected the one she had given him. It was composed a thin silvery cord set with a single dull black bead which rested at the base of his thumb.

"What are these for, Gwen?" asked Matt as he obligingly slipped his bracelet on.

"They're biological sensors," explained Gwen. "They've been programmed to pick up body fluctuations that indicate you're not telling the truth. The black node turns red if it senses you're lying. This way nobody can get away with cheating on a truth question."

"Oh my, really?" Giggled Joleen. "I hope I don't get asked anything too embarrassing."

Gwen nudged the creo girl. "That's half the fun. Besides you don't know what you will be asked. The games console randomly generates all the questions and dares and awards the points."

"So," Terinu fingered his bracelet. "What do ya' get if ya' win?"

"We have to decide that," Gwen looked thoughful. "Any ideas?" She looked from Terinu to Matt.

Matt shrugged. "Dunno'. When me and Teri had a bet the loser usually ended up doing some of the others worst work assignments."

Terinu nodded. " 'cept we'd always end up helping each other out anyway."

Gwen rested her chin on her hands. "That could work. The winner could have all their chores done by the rest of us."

Matt shook his head. "You've forgotten that we're going on a holiday at some fancy resort. I don't reckon there's gonna' be that many chores to do."

Joleen sat up suddenly inspired. "I know, I know. What about if the winner gets to pick the first holiday activity we do?"

Terinu shuddered, "No way, I don't think I could stand goin' on a' all day shoppin' jaunt if Gwen won."

Gwen stuck her tongue out at him. "And what's your idea of a fun activity: stuffing your face at the nearest fruit cooler bar and climbing a tree to sleep it off?"

"What's wrong with that?" Terinu flicked his tail. "Blake said we were supposed to be relaxin'. Well that's relaxin'."

Joleen's eyes shone with excitement. "Captain Brushtail told me there's a multi-system zoo just a mono rail ride away from where we're staying. He says they have real elephants from earth. I would just die to see a real elephant."

"I'd like to see an ocean," said Matt thoughtfully. He nudged Terinu. "Ever since you told me about the beach and the water that goes all the way to the horizon I've been wanting to see it for myself. I can't even imagine it"

“And I’ll sunbake on the sand and you can run around with the tanning spray canister....” Gwen sat up suddenly. “That’s it. The person with the lowest score has to be a slave for the winner for a week!”

“Oh,” Joleen’s eyes went wide. “A whole week, that’s the entire holiday.”

“Yes but think about it,” Gwen grasped Joleen’s arm. “Wouldn’t it be radiant to have one of the boys do everything you tell them to for the next seven days?”

“And what’s so different about that,” sniffed Terinu. “Yer always orderin’ us about like the yer the fraggin’ Queen of Ardactavia.”

“What’s that, space rat?” Gwen smirked at Terinu, “Did you say you’re frightened you’ll lose?”

“To you? Ha! That’ll happen when the galaxy collapses,” Terinu replied.

He thought for a minute. “Though it would be kind’a fun to have ya’ fetchin’ an’ carryin’ fer me fer a change.”

“You’ve got to win first,” said Gwen. She turned to Matt. “How about it, is that good with you?”

Matt shrugged and leaned back into the sofa. “I’ll go along with the majority. How hard can it be? What about you, Jo?”

Joleen teased a lock of bright magenta hair from her top knot. “If you’re okay with it then I guess I am too.” She smiled and nodded. “It sounds like fun. Yes, I agree.”

“It’s settled then.” Gwen started tapping the names of the players into the console. “The loser has to be the winners slave for the entire holidays.”

Note: The biological sensor wrist bands are game quality only: not 100% accurate but good enough to amuse a bunch of tipsy teenagers.

Now back to inking comic pages.

Truth or Dare. Part 1

2007-08-24T08:50:27Z

Because i have SOOOO much free time on my hand (NOT!) I've started writing another terinu based fic. I promise this one will not be dark like the previous one but it will, hopefully, be amusing. This one will be a short piece dealing with the younger cast members enjoying a game. This time i have no idea how long this will be or how ong it's going to take me so don't hold your breath waiting for the next installment. Please note that this is set well into the future of the current story line and contains some biggish spoilers about where every body ends up, (though not how they get there.)

TRUTH OR DARE.

By Peta Hewitt.

August 2007

So what do you do to fill in time during a boring a seven hour flight between the vulpine planets Newspring and Cliffhaven. Eating and sleeping seemed like perfectly reasonable alternatives to the ferin boy Terinu. He’d already managed to successfully avoid reading lessons with Gwendolyn due to his instruction pad going on the fritz. Well, it didn’t exactly go on the fritz all by itself. That little jolt of bion, a unique biological energy ferin can produce at will, delivered to its central processor probably had something to do with it. Of course the downside now was putting up with that annoying human girl prowling the lounge trying to rally everyone to join in with some crazy earth game. The problem was she seemed to be having a fair degree of success.

The flight path followed an established and well insulated course negating the need for much in the way of actual navigation. The shuttle, a semi luxurious vulpine clipper used by nobility, was well stocked with good food and wine and a tastefully decorated living area. Ru’ofanius Brushtail, Viscount to the high ranking House of Brushtail popped open a second vac bottle of winter vintage chardonnay. He leaned across the bar to refill the glass of his sleek, red pelted companion.

“There you go m’dear,” He purred as he redirected the amber stream into his own glass. “One of Fleetfear’s finest.”

“Thank you,” replied Melika Softpaw smiling. She fingered the stem of her glass and swirling the wine about the cup. “Friends of the family?”

“Very good friends of my late father,” Replied Rufus giving the wine an experimental sip. “The old boy shared an interest with Winemaker Fleetfear about the noble use of grapes. We’ve quite a number of casks laid down in our cellars at Brushtail Hall.”

He held the bottle up invitingly towards the two humans on the circular couch sunk down from the bar. “Refill anyone?”

A well built dark haired man looked up from his reader pad. He raised a hand holding his glass up to Rufus. “Wouldn’t say no,” he drawled in an Australian accent. “You Vulpines know your way around a nice drop.”

“Ah, worthy compliment coming from you, Lance,” smiled Rufus showing off his sharp canine teeth as he recharged the man’s glass. “I’m happy that our simple fair measures up to your earth beverages.”

“Lee,” Lance prodded the woman sitting next to him who was currently engrossed in a hyperdrive engineering magazine. A pair of hazel eyes reluctantly tore themselves away from the latest power injection system set to be released from Coreward industries to look quizzically at their cousins.

“Want a top up?” Lance thumbed her half empty glass.

“Uh, what, no, I’m good,” Leeza looked up at Rufus. “Thanks.”

“At your service,” Rufus nodded. He looked up as the slight wheeze of a door caught his attention. “Ah, Miss Freeman. How did the search go.”

The young brown haired teenager beamed back and flourished a small data card in her hand. “I knew I’d packed it.”

She strode over to Terinu who was currently warming a spot on the ledge, his nose almost pressed against the plexiglass separating him from the magnificent star field outside. He had been enjoying watching his breath alternate mist and evaporate from the glass while idly eaves dropping on the conversations taking place behind him.

“Come on Teri,” she said giving the boy a prod. “We’re waiting for you.”

“Good for you,” muttered the motionless ferin. “Keep waiting.”

“Oh don’t be so boring, the stars aren’t going anywhere,” Gwen pouted. “Come on, it will be fun. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Surprise me by getting’ out of m’ face,” Terinu answered.

“There’s no need to be so rude,” Gwen’s hands straddled her hips indignantly. “And I’m not going until you come with me, so there.”

“Hey kids, a bit a quiet,” Lance responded to his little cousin’s slowly rising tone.

“Don’t go off at me,” snapped Terinu raising his head to glare at the big human. “She’s the one making all the racket.”

Lance met his stare. “Why don’t you two kids play somewhere else and gives us adults a bit of a break, aye?”

“You wanna’ break,” Terinu hissed. “I can help you with that.”

“Terinu!” Leeza rested her reading tablet on her lap; an irritated look creased her face. She gestured firmly at the door. “Go. Join the others.”

Terinu snarled in annoyance. Had the woman forgotten that he was bonded to her and thus subconsciously driven to obey her direct commands. He looked at her stern face. Nope, she hadn’t forgotten. He swung his legs down from the ledge and landed squarely on the floor and glowered at Gwen’s triumphant grin as he followed her out of the door.

Lance raised an eyebrow at his cousin. “I didn’t expect that.” He said referring to her deliberate order.

“It’s quiet,” clipped Leeza. “We don’t get much quiet. And I don’t feel like sacrificing the next hour to play referee. And as I can’t order you both to leave the room…”

“Point,” Lance grinned sheepishly. “Sorry luv.”

He took a sip of his drink. “Not bad. So what’s little missy up to anyway?”

Rufus replaced the stopper on the vac bottle. “Apparently she’s organizing some kind of game for the young folk to play. You have to admire the resilience of youth. Even after all they’ve been through they can still loose themselves in simple pleasures.”

“What sort of game?” Asked Melika.

“Um, an earth one, I believe. She did tell me the name but I can’t remember it”

Melika thought for a minute. “I seem to recall earth games often require bouncing spheres of one kind or another and require a lot of room to play. I don’t think the Solar Breeze is really equipped for that.”

“More’s the pity,” said Lance. “The pups could use a bit of a run around to get the tickle outta’ their feet. After all we’ve been stuck in transport for half a day now. No offense mate, she’s a beaut boat here.”

“None taken, my friend,” replied Rufus.

“There are other games that don’t involve jumping about,” Lance mused. “Don’t suppose you’ve got a monopoly set hidden somewhere here.”

“Monopoly… no, but there is a deck of cards in the coffee table drawer.”

Lance set his glass down. “Draw poker?”

Rufus grinned. “You’re on.”

chaypeta @ 2007-07-23T08:32:00

2007-07-22T22:41:40Z

I know when I'm completely buggered when I come home from work with a broken tooth knowing I'm going to need a dental appointment and I really couldn't give a four x.

And the good side I am now on holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My muse is going hell for leather and I have at least three projects that I'm dying to work on... including something which seems to be turning into a challenge competition between Kikibug and I (lol)... hell knows if anybody else is going to see it. (If hell freezes over perhaps!)

I've got a back load of art for the calendar i have to colour... I'm aiming to have three more pics complete before i go back to work which is going to be a challenge considering they're upwards of 20 hours a piece to colour. I'll be working like a cattle dog but it'll be work that I love.

I swear i will not be starting another text based story, no sir-ree! 'cept that I've got this scene based on Royce's recent alternate universe fanfic segments that is just dying to crawl out onto paper. Gahhhh... whatever I do it'll be creative.